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Alex's CFL Tuesday Takes – May 8, 2018

The CFL Draft this past Thursday was wacky. Not the night of the draft itself, but all of the trades made the day before. Winnipeg traded out of the first round, Montreal traded their #1 overall pick to Hamilton at #2... and boy did Hamilton pay a TON to move up 1 spot.

If you want to move up 1 spot, you must REALLY like a guy, but to give up a Canadian starter in Ryan Bomben, WHO YOU PAID A $70,000 BONUS TO, is just stupid management. No issue with trading the player, but you just basically cost your team a roster player for the year by paying that bonus and then shipping Bomben off.

The winners of the draft were the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, based on having 4 selections in the first 15 picks, but I like what the BC Lions did. They got players in the trenches (I really wanted the Riders to go with Defensive Lineman Julien Laurent in the 1st round, so BC must have been thrilled he was there) and games are won and lost there.

As for the Riders, to me it was a mix of good and bad.

First, the good. I LOVE the 2nd round pick of Linebacker Micah Teitz out of Calgary. The Riders got what appears to be the best Linebacker in the draft, period. He has good size, comes from a successful program and will be able to contribute on Special Teams immediately with a chance to play defense right away too.

I also like the Dakoda Shepley pick, but I like it as much as I hate it. Great size, will be pro ready and could be an anchor on the team for a decade... if he ever comes up to Canada again. A couple days before the draft he signed a THREE year deal with the New York Jets of the NFL, which also included a signing bonus. He might be the best Offensive Lineman of this draft class, but it may be years before we see him in Riderville.

In his 3 drafts so far, Riders GM and Head Coach Chris Jones has shown he's not that great at finding good CFL talent. Heck, I'd settle for okay right now. Honestly, other than Dariusz Bladek, no other pick has panned out and a couple picks were curious to begin with. The Josiah St. John pick still has other teams laughing (I know hindsight is 20/20... but Alex Singleton was available...), picking Antony Auclair and David Onyemata were dart board hopeful that they get cut from the NFL picks and the rest just haven't panned out.

Now I can't dismiss picks like Cameron Judge or Elie Bouka just yet. Judge was in the plans last year before he got hurt and Bouka did make it here last year and after getting cut from the NFL again, might find his way here again. That said, for a team that had TERRIBLE Canadian depth in 2016 when this regime took over, Chris Jones needed to find players that can come in immediately and play. Future picks are good, but we need the help and depth now and have for the past few years. All I'm saying is limit the future picks just a bit.

It's a good thing Chris Jones can buy Free Agent Canadians or make trades for them, because frankly, he's not good at scouting them himself. BUT #InJonesWeTrust and he's given me no reason to not be excited about this team

The steal of the draft could end up being Mr. Irrelevant. The Toronto Argonauts took Long Snapper Kain Anzovino. This position is always looked over and I bet most fans couldn't name their team's Long Snapper. If Anzovino becomes the Argos Long Snapper, he could be there for a decade. To put it in perspective, the Riders traded a Canadian receiver (Cory Watson) and a 2nd round pick to get Hus and a 3rd round pick.

*** Don't forget to enter the 2018 Piffles Podcast Fan Contest! Running all season, we want to hear more about YOU, the GREAT Rider fans! What does Rider Pride mean to you? How did you become a fan? Who's your favourite player? We would like to ask you these questions and more and share your story with ALL of Rider Nation! We have over $2,500 in prizes to give away and we would love to learn more about the passionate fans that make up Riderville! To enter, fill out the questionaire and you are qualified! 20 Weekly Winners will be drawn throughout the season and EVERYONE that enters is put into the Grand Prize Draw to be made during the final week of the CFL regular season! ***

*** Piffles Podcast is heading to the Banjo Bowl! Join us on the trip and let's paint Winnipeg green! We will leave the Saturday morning of the game, tailgate at IGF for a little bit, watch the Riders beat the Bombers and then we will stay overnight in Winnipeg and come back to Regina on Sunday afternoon. LESS THAN 8 TICKETS REMAINING!! If this is of interest to you, let us know ASAP!

It promises to be a fun time and we have some great prizes lined up to giveaway ***

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